In the unforgiving world of politics, Joe Biden stumbled and faltered in a debate in June, making President-elect Donald Trump’s pathway to political resurgence more transparent. Despite Biden’s obvious incapabilities, Trump urged his team to apply discretion, wary of not sidelining his politically wounded opponent too early. It was a strategic move, according to Trump’s co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita, who withheld an advertisement that might have further eroded Biden’s standing.
As Biden found himself succumbing to mounting pressure from intra-party voices to gracefully bow out, he eventually paved the way in August for Kamala Harris to step into the limelight. He shared a candid conversation with his Vice President, fraught with divisive elements, further exposing his faltering grip on the presidency.
Jen O’Malley Dillon, who directed the campaigns of both Biden and Harris, detailed this somewhat strained transaction of power. According to her, Biden afforded Harris the freedom to draw an invisible line, implicitly accepting his declining popularity. Puzzlingly, Dexterous Biden preferred to nurse his damaged ego over safeguarding against Trump’s impending domination.
These intriguingly twisted tales from the corridors of the 2024 presidential campaigns were presented at the Harvard’s Institute of Politics conference on Friday. The event is typically the final note in the election cycle, but this time around, the campaign had taken a path of vulnerability and surprises.
The narrative of the campaign was streaked with unprecedented incidents and conspiracy. From two unsuccessful assassination attempts to dramatic interchange of nominees, from allegations of campaign email hacking involving China and Iran to historical political reoccurrences dating back to 1885, the political canvas was chaotic and unpredictable.
The conference provided a first attempt at an all-encompassing oral history of the campaign, an iconiclection event that was marked by extraordinary twists of fate. Its architects, the experts who conceptualized and managed this behemoth, were still grappling with its outcome and the extraordinary circumstances.
At Harvard, the experts reflected on how personal the stakes had become. It turns out that politics, at that level, becomes surprisingly personal. But it seems that despite the self-stoked bonfires, Team Biden and Team Harris were still struggling to find their rhythm.
O’Malley Dillon, under a barrage of progressive second-guessing, vainly tried to defend her leadership of the campaigns of Biden and then Harris. Her now-infamous statement – ‘We run shit like we ought to run it’ – has become a metaphorical headstone for the doomed intentions of the Democratic establishment.
Biden’s political career, left marred by a disastrous debate performance and a wounded ego, found momentary relief in Trump’s unexpected sentiment of ‘don’t go too hard on him’. Yet despite Trump’s unusual display of tactical mercy, Biden’s political path looked increasingly fragmented and weak.
Harris, who ascended to the nomination on Biden’s reluctant departure, still didn’t paint a convincing picture for the Democrats. Her attempts to gain distance from the sinking ship that was the ‘Biden White House’ carried a potent aroma of political desperation.
Trump’s potential return to power loomed over the scenario, casting an unsettling shadow of uncertainty over the Democratic Party. Harris seemed to be at the helm of a rudderless ship, navigating through a storm without a compass.
The shared outcomes of Biden’s and Harris’ campaigns under Dillon’s leadership further highlighted their inadequacies in dealing with the unique facets of this political battleground. The inability to adapt to changing tides and overcome extraordinary circumstances defined their position in the political landscape.
The unprecedented situations that emerged during the election cycle shook the political foundation. Unsuccessful assassination bids, a dramatic nominee swap, claims of hacked campaign emails by potentially hostile nations, and a political resurgence not seen in more than a century summarize the political surrealism of that time.
Biden’s faltering performance, Harris’ inability to seize command, and Trump’s looming resurgence form the crux of this tumultuous political cycle. In the end, their shared stories only underscore the immense challenges and extraordinary circumstances that encapsulate this march towards the historical 2024 Presidential Election.
The campaign’s architects’ struggle to comprehend the outcomes and unpredictability of the election period is a testament to the complexities associated with these high-stakes political matches. And all personal battles, however desperate, could not change the tide of this remarkable election year.